Miami lands first linebacker pledge in 2020 with commitment from in-state prospect

Restocking its linebackers corps is one of the most important goals for the Miami Hurricanes in the 2020 recruiting cycle. On Monday, Miami added its first pledge at the major position of need in the Class of 2020 when Alvin Mathis orally committed to the Hurricanes.

A three-star outside linebacker from Largo Pinellas Park, Mathis announced his commitment on Twitter less than two weeks after he called Miami the frontrunner in his recruitment.

Mathis is one of the top prospects in the Tampa Bay area for the 2020 recruiting cycle and possesses a lot of the traits coach Manny Diaz, who was previously the Hurricanes’ linebackers coach, likes in his linebackers. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect was mostly an outside linebacker and strong safety at Pinellas Park before moving to middle linebacker out of necessity for the 2018 season. He has coverage prowess from his time playing the secondary and displayed strong instincts when he moved to inside linebacker. As a junior in Largo, Mathis led the Patriots with 86 tackles, and added nine tackles for loss and two sacks. He also broke up one pass, blocked a punt and recovered five fumbles to help Pinellas Park win 10 games for the first time since 2013.

Alvin Mathis Sr., Mathis’ father, was a linebacker for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, so the rising senior leaned on his father’s advice to make his transition to middle linebacker.

“People have been telling me my junior year was great. They said it was a big upgrade from my sophomore to my junior year,” Mathis said in Largo last month. “I was like watching my film, talking about it with my dad and he was telling me stuff I needed to work on.

“I got used to seeing stuff, learning how to read linemen and stuff, so that played a big key in it because I started learning more stuff about the game.”

Mathis said he hasn’t gotten a specific indication of which linebacker spot he could play for the Hurricanes, just that he could see the field early. The nation’s No. 34 outside linebacker in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Mathis picked up an offer from Miami last month, then visited Coral Gables for one the final spring practices, where linebackers coach Jonathan Patke pitched him on early playing time. Starting linebackers Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney are both seniors, so the Hurricanes are looking for their next generation at the position.

Just four days after his visit, Mathis announced a top three of Miami, the Florida Gators and the Auburn Tigers. Although he and four-star Largo inside linebacker Jayion McCluster toyed with going to the same school, McCluster committed to the Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday leaving Mathis to go in his own direction.

Mathis’ father and uncle made sure to show him all the documentaries about the Hurricanes as Mathis was growing up. Understandably, Mathis calls Ray Lewis one of his favorite players. Becoming a part of the Miami legacy is something he couldn’t turn down.

“Miami, I think that might be the top one right now,” Mathis said. “It’s the opportunity that I have to go there and I feel like that’s probably something I should take advantage of.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 1:33 PM.